The Way Up

Everyone wants to feel good. But there is a real problem with making that our life’s goal. How we feel is not, or should not be, the bottom line. Feelings make great companions but lousy leaders. If you are led by your feelings you’ll end up somewhere you don’t want to be.

Sometimes as Christians we get wanting to feel spiritual and we pursue that. We make it our aim. And we judge how well we think we’re doing by it. But here is a big problem - the more spiritual you get the less spiritual you’ll feel. The more humble you get, the less humble you’ll feel. The closer you get to God, the larger your own inadequacies appear. The more mature you get as a believer, the more you realize how incredibly far away from God’s holy and perfect will you really are.

Of course, there is a great paradox in all of this. Jesus said that the way up is the way down. He who humbles himself will be exalted. If you want to be great, become a servant of all.

So, if you really, really want to feel spiritual, become a total hypocrite. I think that hypocrites are the only ones who really feel spiritual. Or here is a better idea - forget about trying to feel spiritual and choose faith. Put your focus where it needs to be, on Christ, and rest in the assurance that His grace is sufficient regardless of how you might feel at any particular time.

Taking Credit

Some time ago I had someone express to me their disdain for how contemporary Christian artists take the secular sound and write Christian lyrics to it and call it Christian music. This person, not a Christian, suggested to me that this is what Christians do; we don’t have anything really of our own, we just keep stealing ideas and concepts from the secular world and calling it ours.

I can see how someone could think that way. However, one of the problems with this view is that it fails to recognize that the ‘secular sound’ was influenced in a big way by earlier gospel traditions. So who is imitating who one might be caused to wonder really. And what about other areas?

It is not unusual for people to take credit for things without really giving credit where credit is due. I’m sure we are all guilty of this type of behaviour as it is simply part of fallen human nature. We are quite eager to take credit and quite reluctant to give it. However, it seems to me that a lot of contemporary academic movements seem to excel in the practice.

Back in 1970, leadership guru Robert Greenleaf came up with an amazing breakthrough in Leadership Philosophy. He called it ‘servant leadership’. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about it all:

“Servant leadership is a philosophy and practice of leadership, coined and defined by Robert Greenleaf and supported by many leadership and management writers such as James Autry, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Peter Block, Peter Senge, Max DePree, Larry Spears, Margaret Wheatley, Jim Hunter, Kent Keith, Ken Jennings, Don Frick and others. Servant-leaders achieve results for their organizations by giving priority attention to the needs of their colleagues and those they serve. Servant-leaders are often seen as humble stewards of their organization's resources (human, financial and physical)… The modern servant leadership movement was launched by Robert K. Greenleaf in his 1970 essay, ‘The Servant as Leader’, in which he coined the terms ‘servant-leader’ and ‘servant leadership.’ Greenleaf subsequently published a number of additional essays on various aspects of servant leadership. Since his death in 1990, the concept has been developed by other writers such as William W. George, James Autry, Ken Blanchard, Jim Hunter, Ken Jennings, Kent Keith, George SanFacon, and Larry Spears.”

The thing that most of these writers have in common is that none of them, to my knowledge, are writing from a biblical context. And yet, who really ‘coined and defined’ servant leadership? I would humbly suggest to you that it was Jesus.

“Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matt 20:25-28

After Jesus washed the disciples feet (Jn 13) He said, “I have done this to you as an example that you should do as I have done.”

Recently I was reading an article by Linda Hill in the prestigious Harvard Business Review. The online article was entitled ‘Leading From Behind’ (May 5/2010). There she wrote as follows:

“This post is part of a six-week blog series on how leadership might look in the future. The conversations generated by these posts will help shape the agenda of a symposium on the topic in June 2010… For now and into the coming decade or so, the most effective leaders will lead from behind, not from the front — a phrase I've borrowed from none other than Nelson Mandela. In his autobiography, Mandela equated a great leader with a shepherd: "He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind."

Then she adds these profound words, “It's a concept whose time has come.”

Shepherding? Leading from behind? An idea whose time has come? Really? Or is it a concept whose time has been for a long, long time? Here once again are those on the ‘cutting edge’ of the highest levels of secular academia putting forth what they consider to be the latest and greatest and I’m sure people flock (pardon the pun)to their lectures and book sales.

The simple truth is that the model of the leader as shepherd is owned by the Bible in a really big way. I hardly need to explain that for anyone who actually reads the Bible. Whether it is David’s Psalm, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want…”. Or whether it is Jesus’ wonderful words, “I am the Good Shepherd who gives his life for the sheep…”. Or, whether it is a myriad of other references from the prophets and apostles that use the same model for leadership, the concept is clearly biblical in its orientation.

Furthermore, I read this passage a few days ago:

“Now then, tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over my people Israel.” 2Sam 7:8

When God talks about David ‘following the flock’ that sure sounds like the concept of ‘leading from behind’ to me.

So, what does this all mean? Well, the whole thing about ‘servant leadership’ and ‘leading from behind’ means a whole lot if you are striving to be a good leader. That’s for sure. But beyond that, the whole thing means we all really should be more careful to give credit where credit is due.

“Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.” Rom 13:7

Jury Duty

For the second time in my life I got summoned for jury duty in a supreme court trial this month. The first time I was a student in Saskatchewan and filed the paperwork to be excused and was. This time, I filed the paper work to be excused and my request was denied by the judge who obviously didn’t consider my time to be any more valuable than anyone else's.

Honestly, I would love the experience of being on a jury. I took law in high school and we got to walk up town and sit in on a trial at the same court house and I believe it would have been a very interesting and educational experience. But this trial is scheduled to take close to three weeks!

Anyway, I went in at the appointed time and we began the tedious process known as jury selection. I was sitting there wondering how a defense attorney would like to have a baptist pastor on the jury but looking around me at the large number of people that had been called and thinking it probably didn’t matter anyway as the odds were in my favor. But then, they called on all those who had medical issues, hearing loss or financial concerns and dismissed them. The ranks were thinning.

Then it happened. According to procedure, the crown attorney read the list of all the witnesses they intended to call. So, I got in line, put my hand on the Bible and swore to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth (or something like that) and took the stand (actually sitting). The judge asked me why I thought I should be excused. I told him that I knew a certain gentlemen quite well whose name was on that list, and that was it! I was out that door quicker than you can say Matlock. I called Florence on my cell and told her I was free! (those are my exact words).

Then I started to think back on my experience. The only reason that judge said to me that I was ‘free to go’ was because I knew someone. And that is how it will be some day. We will all stand before the judge of all the earth and the only thing that will matter on that day is whether or not we know Jesus Christ personally. No other issue will matter. And if it is determined that we really know Him, or more to the point, that He knows us!, then, and only then, will we be ‘free to go’. You see, it really is WHO you know.

“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed… Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 8:36 ; 17:3

The Man In The Mirror

How do you see yourself? They say that how you view yourself will ultimately determine how you live your life. I think I believe that. I’ve been reading lately in 2Samuel. In the events recorded in 2Samuel 7, David tells the prophet Nathan that he wants to build God a house (a temple). God’s message back to David, again through Nathan, includes God’s promise to build David a ‘house’. The reference is to David’s linage which of course becomes a promise of the Messiah who was, you will recall, of the ‘house’ of David.

But in David’s prayer to God in response to this amazing announcement back from the Lord to him (2Sam 7:18-29) David refers to himself no less than 10 times in these 12 verses as ‘your servant’. By this time of course, God has taken David from following sheep to leading the nation but, even as king, David exalts in his role as God’s servant.

And David isn’t alone. Throughout the Old Testament and into the New, we see patriarchs, prophets, priests, kings, disciples and apostles all alike relishing the role of servant of God. This isn’t just a few references. Go ahead and check it out. There are hundreds.

And the same is true coming from the other direction as God seems to share in the delight of calling those He chooses to be ‘His servants’. Again, check it out … “… My servant Abraham… My servant Moses… My servant Caleb…"

God also took the phrase ‘my servant’ and by the lips of Isaiah made it into a messianic title…. “Here is my Servant, whom I uphold, my Chosen One in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on Him and He will bring justice to the nations…. See, my Servant will act wisely; He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. Just as there were many who were appalled at Him – His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and His form marred beyond human likeness…”

To be a servant is one thing but to be God’s servant, well, that is something else. What an exalted title it is when you put God’s name with it. We are not just servants. We are called to be His servants.

Now honestly, if you take that title, really believing it to be your own, honestly, how do you see yourself? And how do you then live your life?

Water Under The Bridge

Do you know how many phrases and expressions we commonly use in our English language that actually have their origin in the Bible? I bet you don’t. I don’t either, but I know there are a whole lot of them. And every time I come across one, I am reminded again of how integral the Bible is to the fabric of our society even when we don’t realize it. The troubling part about this is that when we thoughtlessly dismiss our Christian heritage and walk away from it we have really no idea what all we are leaving behind! No idea.

Anyway, I came across this passage a while back.

“You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by.” Job 11:16

Isn’t that beautiful? I immediately thought of the expression ‘water under the bridge’.

I live beside a river and when the weather is warm we sometimes have the opportunity to spend some time in and around the water. The river is mesmerizing. The way it moves can be almost hypnotic. I can remember as a kid often finding a piece of wood or something to throw into the water just to watch it pass out of sight… gone!

[Remember the fascination of that ½ hour show about the little wooden Indian in his canoe that the CBC did back in 1966 called ‘Paddle To The Sea’?]

Time is like water. It flows. It never stops. It is unstoppable. And sometimes we lament that. There is a certain melancholy sense one gets deep in your heart when you just simply stand and watch the water flow on. There is a feeling of loss just like we feel about time as it is passing … passing … passing…

But then, as this passage from Job reminds us, there is also something very good about that too. Because all of us have things in our lives that we want to see pass away.

You may have had someone say to you that when you think of your troubles you should remember ‘this too shall pass’. There is a lot of comfort in that.


This Too Shall Pass

If I can endure for this minute
Whatever is happening to me,
No matter how heavy my heart is
Or how dark the moment may be-

If I can remain calm and quiet
With all the world crashing about me,
Secure in the knowledge God loves me
When everyone else seems to doubt me-

If I can but keep on believing
What I know in my heart to be true,
That darkness will fade with the morning
And that this will pass away, too-

Then nothing in life can defeat me
For as long as this knowledge remains
I can suffer whatever is happening
For I know God will break all of the chains

That are binding me tight in the darkness
And trying to fill me with fear-
For there is no night without dawning
And I know that my morning is near.

...Helen Steiner Rice

Charity

Charity is the old English word for loving kindness. We commonly use the word ‘love’ now instead but, unfortunately when we do, we normally mean something less.

I was working outside one day this past week and the radio was on. You know how sometimes you’re listening, not really paying close attention, but then something just catches you and causes you to really think. This was one of those times.

An ad came on promoting a golf tournament; an ‘all inclusive’ 4 days and 3 nights at a beautiful resort and spa complete with numerous celebrity appearances and amazing live entertainment. As I kind of listened, not thinking too much of it, they continued to sell the excellent features of this entertainment extravaganza. You know how that goes… nothing but the best of everything… And then they added, “… and you can help the underprivileged at the same time!”

Now, up to this point I was not particularly paying a whole lot of attention but that last statement suddenly struck me as odd. There’s nothing odd about golf (though it may appear so to some) and charity shouldn’t seem odd to us. But putting the two together is just … odd! I’m not much of a golfer but I think it’s called the ‘East Coast Classic’. It’s a ‘fund raising’ tournament. In fact, they call it ‘a charitable golf experience like no other’.

Call me cynical, but isn’t there something somewhat disturbing about this? I know that this type of fund raising is extremely common. So much so, that it seems to be the preferred method. Everybody is doing it. I know of a Bible College that has a golf tournament to raise funds for their school. And it seems like every time I turn around someone is selling tickets on something to raise money for some worthy cause.

Don’t get me wrong. I applaud the organizers of these events for the most part (except when it comes to lotteries and such which I have some real issues with, but that’s another story). These people, often volunteers, do a really good job of raising a real lot of money for some really good causes. But I have to wonder about the people who are being targeted for these types of events. In my mind, I can just picture someone who has more money than the average person paying out a significant amount in order to personally benefit from the enjoyment of the very best his money can buy and somehow managing at the same time to give himself a pat on the back, his conscience eased for another year.

What do you call that? Maybe it’s a really good thing, but it is hardly charity; not when you get everything you pay for. What have you really given? At the most, maybe the crumbs off of your table. What place have we come to when a good cause must be sustained almost entirely by appealing to the self-interest of the rich? I guess I am cynical.

Social Networking

Social Networking - It’s not new. Even if the phrase is trendy, the concept is older than the human race. But, what IS continually new is the technology we use to do it. This blog is an example of social networking, but hardly compared to things like facebook, twitter and texting. And with the ongoing advent of extremely innovative and powerful technology, there is a growing problem, not unlike the problem we are seeing with the increased potency of various medications available today.

A new study out this past week indicates that American college students may be ‘addicted’ to instant connections. According to researchers at the University of Maryland, the words commonly associated with drug and alcohol addictions are the same words used by students to describe how they feel when they are forced to go without these connections for any length of time. They speak of withdrawal, craving, anxiety … and they say they get frantic, antsy, miserable, jittery and even crazy.

The researchers who did the study, asking students to go without the use of social media for one 24 hour period, concluded that most college students seem practically unable to function without these connections.

There is a question as to whether this is about the social media itself, or about relationships? I’m thinking more the latter. One student wrote afterward how, “texting and IM-ing my friends gives me a constant feeling of comfort.”

The old saying goes, the more things change, the more they become the same. I can remember passing notes in class and being reprimanded on an ongoing basis, along with pretty much everyone else, for ‘talking’ in class. And since when is it new for teens to spend hours talking on the phone with their friends?

People haven’t changed but there is a huge warning in all of this. If we fail to control the technology, the technology will end up controlling us. As we are being enabled to connect more often with more people in more ways, we are going to need more self-control.

That’s not really that comforting at a time when self-control seems to be at a premium. However, we can’t just give in to this. We need to challenge ourselves and our children to know their boundaries, set limits and seek to live balanced lives. As great and as wonderful as ‘social networking’ is, there are times when we need to be free from it so that we can give our full attention to the task (or the person!) at hand.

And there are times when we really need to be alone too. This allows us quality time with God focusing completely on our relationship with Him, meditating on what His Word says to us. God has left us a very large and critically important text message and prayer is the most important connection we have.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1